Club News

Spring 2021 Update

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As Deschutes County has surpassed the 65% vaccinated rate, we are now in the LOWER RISK category, with guidelines going into effect May 21, 2021.  


How Bella events are adapting to ‘Lower Risk’ restrictions:

  • OUTDOOR EVENTS are limited to parties of 12 Bellas or less in order to maintain safe social distancing. 
  • All Bella events, until otherwise noted, are member-only events.  No guests/non-members will be permitted at any Bella event until further notice. 
  • We will require pre-registration online for events.  This is mandatory.
  • We ask that people respect the Event Leaders decision on the number of participants.
When NOT to attend a Bella event:

  • If you are not feeling well
  • If you’ve had a fever
  • If you’ve had shortness of breath
  • If you have been in close contact with anyone with these symptoms or anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 day
 
The Bella ExComm will continue to monitor risk levels. While we are optimistic, we still need to remain vigilant and temper expectations.

Fall COVID-19 Update

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Oh COVID, here we go again!

The state of Oregon is experiencing a spike in daily COVID case counts and has reached record daily highs in confirmed cases and positivity rates in November. Due to this, Gov. Kate Brown has announced a statewide two-week “freeze”. The freeze, which will be in effect from Nov. 18 through Dec. 2, aims to limit group activities and reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

As part of the freeze, grocery stores, pharmacies and retail stores are limited to a maximum capacity of 75%. Other facilities — gyms and fitness centers, pools, sports courts, movie theaters, and venues — will have to close their doors completely. Restaurants and bars will now be limited to take-out only.

And here’s where the ‘freeze’ affects Bella activities: both indoor and outdoor social get-togethers are limited to six people, total, from no more than two households. We must, therefore, reluctantly cancel all Bella events for the time being. We, the ExComm, will keep you posted as we receive guidance after December 2nd. Until that time there will not  be any Bella events posted on Meetup. We will continue to share any updates that may impact our community.

We are all very disappointed by this, but we need to keep ourselves and others in our community safe. The biggest thing we learned from our first shutdown was that connection with our community is more important than we ever realized.  You are  encouraged to keep in touch with your Bella friends via email, text and phone calls. 

The Bend Bella Cyclists ExComm is here for you! Please contact us with any concerns at [email protected] and your email will be forwarded to the correct member.

Coronavirus Update

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Coronavirus affects us all

As everyone is aware the coronavirus has upended the world in which we live as well as our recreation.  As of this writing, the state of Oregon has not yet issued a state lockdown although there are rumors that one may come.  Of those states that have issued lockdowns, no state has completely banned outdoor activities although most have requested that people maintain a 6 ft distance from one another to avoid spreading this disease.  The Bend Bella Cyclists is committed to adhering to the health advisories to keep all of our members safe.

What the Bellas are doing 

  • The Bellas has cancelled the 2020 Spring Fling scheduled for April 9th.
  • We are suspending the posting of rides or other meetings through the Bella Meetup.
  • We are remaining optimistic and looking forward to the Spring riding season.
What we think

  • Group rides are a risk.  People are social animals.  It’s hard to maintain the required 6 ft distance when you’re riding and chatting with your friends.  For that reason we have suspended group rides.
  • Riding and hiking and generally being outdoors is good for your health.  We encourage everyone to get outside alone or with members of your own household on uncrowded trails.  We are fortunate to live in an area with lots of open uncrowded spaces.  Go exploring.
  • Take time to get your bike maintenance done.  Support your local bike shops.  Some bike shops may be limiting customer contact.  So call first.  You may be able to drop your bike off for maintenance.
  • Think and plan routes you’d like to do when the crisis is over.  The Bellas has an extensive library of bike routes in the Ride with GPS Club account.  https://ridewithgps.com/organizations/2891-bend-bella-cyclists/routes? 
  • Sign-up for Ride with GPS club account if you haven’t already.  With the club account you get all the features of a premium account with your Bella membership.   Moe has created this very simple tutorial to help you get online https://www.bendbellacyclists.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ride-with-GPS-RWGPS-Club-Account-1-1.pdf
  • Learn how to save a route to the club library.  Another Moe tutorial:  https://www.bendbellacyclists.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Saving-a-route-to-the-Club-RWGPS-Route-Library.pdf
Stay in touch!

People have different ways of maintaining contact.  Some people read or post on social media.  Others communicate by text.  Some like to talk on the phone.  Reach out.  Keep in touch.  If you haven’t heard from a friend in a while, send them a note through whatever medium works for you.  

 

Winter 2020 Updates!

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Bend Bella Cyclists Winter Update

As the cycling season has wound down and the dark days of winter are upon us, many Bellas like to continue the friendships and camaraderie they’ve developed over the past year. We invite our members to organize events for Bellas: these can be as simple as a movie night, wine tasting, dinner at a new restaurant, or as energetic as snowshoeing, downhill and x-c skiing (despite our wild and weird winter weather making it a little difficult to plan ski and snowshoe outings). If you are interested in organizing an event but need some help, please contact [email protected].

Membership Update:

We currently have 167 members. Twenty-five of these members are new for the 2020 season, and we have an 87% return from 2019!

Bella Annual Holiday Party: 

Many thanks to the Special Events Committee of Kelly O’Neill, Connie Axelrod and Kelly Von Ruden for helping to make this event, once again, a great success. And a special shout out to Susanita Hicks and Kelly Von Ruden for the excellent video capturing the best moments of the past year.

What’s New for 2020:

Our Social Events and Hospitality Committee has been busy planning our 2020 event calendar.  *** For detailed information on all Bella events, please visit the Bend Bella Cyclists MeetUp site:  https://www.meetup.com/Bend-Bella-Cyclists-Meetup/  New this year is the Chili Cook Off. This will be held in February. Bellas are invited to bring their favorite chili recipe and enter the contest to win a prize. You don’t have a favorite recipe, or just don’t want to cook? No problem! We invite you to bring a side, bread, or dessert. Just come, meet new members and get reacquainted with old friends.

The Bend Bella Cyclists will kick off their 2020 activity season a bit differently this year. Our get-together, formerly known as the Kick-Off meeting, is now called The Spring Fling and will be held in April. The Spring Fling, open only to current members, will be more of a party atmosphere than a meeting. The ExComm will give a brief overview of plans for the 2020 season, but the goal is to get together as we start the warmer weather activities. Come, renew friendships and meet new members!

Bellas on the Mend:

The Bellas are an active, adventurous group. The downside is that injuries happen. OK, so we’re injured. Even though our Bella activities are on hold for a period of time, we will recover, and we can have fun in our recovery. Watch for Bellas on the Mend events on MeetUp. Come on out, meet new people, join with and support those recovering and have fun doing so. Open to all Bellas, injured or not!

Recurring Monthly Events:

The Bellas Executive Committee (ExComm) holds a monthly meeting. This meeting is open to all interested members. We invite you to come see what the Bellas are all about. The ExComm discusses plans for the upcoming season and is always seeking interested members to volunteer for our committees. Come to a meeting and see if any committee interests you. Any and all input, and especially new ideas, are welcome.

Are you looking for a fun way to enjoy books, catch up with friends and meet new people? The Bella monthly Book Club is a great place to start. There is nothing better than curling up with a good book. Most of us come to book club to escape stress and reality. If somebody didn’t have time to finish, that’s okay. This isn’t high school. It’s perfectly acceptable to sit, nibble and listen. Many members come, occasionally, just for friendship. Join us!

MeetUp:

The Bellas will no longer send out rosters with member’s contact information. To contact Bella members privately on MeetUp:

  • Sign into your Bella MeetUp account
  • On the Home page, select ‘Members’ (found beneath the picture)
  • In the ‘Search Members’ space, type in the member’s name (you can just type in the first
    name )
  • When you’ve found the member you’re looking for, click on the ‘conversation bubble’ to the right of their name
  • A new page will open up with ‘New Conversation’
    – Type in your message
    – Don’t forget to press ‘send’
    – This message is PRIVATE: just between the two of you.

As a reminder, all events can be found on MeetUp. To receive email updates of Bella MeetUp events:

  • Sign into your Bella MeetUp account
  • Click on your profile picture (upper right corner)
  • Choose ‘settings’
  • Choose ‘email updates’ (left side, beneath ‘general’)
  • Click ‘email updates ON’.
    – You can also choose ‘messages’ ON, – this way other members can send you a private message
    – You can also choose ‘replies to my comments’ ON – this way you can see if someone replies to a comment you’ve made about a particular MeetUp event.